Seabury Hall’s Tyler Loree leaves an impressive legacy in Maui Interscholastic League boys golf

As Tyler Loree walked the 18th fairway at Mākena Golf and Beach Resort on the evening of April 22 with darkness surrounding him, he got a little nostalgic. The Seabury Hall senior was about to put a final stamp on a record-setting tournament and a boys prep golf career unmatched in Maui Interscholastic League history.

This week at the David Ishii/HHSAA boys state golf tournament, he has a chance to leave no doubt that he is the best prep boy golfer ever from Maui County.

The defending state champion has signed a scholarship agreement to play for UCLA in the fall. He will go to Los Angeles as a three-time MIL champion after his 10-foot birdie putt dropped on the final hole at Mākena for a 12-under-par 274 finish, an all-time record under-par finish by any MIL boys tournament. The Bruins are currently ranked 13th in the nation.

Moments after golf cart headlights were focused on the final green of his high school career on Maui so the last threesome could see well enough to finish a few minutes after sunset, Loree smiled as he thought about his bright future.

“Walking down the fairway, I was actually getting pretty emotional,” Loree said with an MIL gold medal joining several lei around his neck. “Just thinking about it, four years went by really quick and I’ve made a lot of great memories in the MIL and it’s just, it’s a great end of a chapter.”

Last year, Loree became just the second MIL boy to win an individual state golf title, joining Maui High School’s William Coelho who did it in 1988. At the state tournament at the Mauna Lani Resort North Course on Thursday and Friday, Loree can become the first MIL golfer — boy or girl — to win two state individual championships. Only seven boys have won two state individual titles in the 60-year history of the state tournament, the last being Moanalua’s John Oda in 2012 and 2014.

“It’s really cool to see that I’m a of part of Maui’s golf history now,” Loree said. “I mean, two people, second person ever. That’s a tiny list, so it’s cool to be part of it.”

Baldwin senior Anessa Riglos won her third straight MIL girls title and has signed to play at Tennessee State University in the fall.

“It feels great. A lot of pressure was on me, especially since it was senior year,” Riglos said. “But I’m glad that I showed up and I played and I tried my best and it was enough.”

Although she played for the Bears previously as a student at Hawai‘i Technology Academy, Riglos transferred to the Baldwin campus in Wailuku for her senior year. Riglos shot 74 last week to finish at 15-over-par 301, eight shots in front of runner-up Ava Kawahara of Maui Prep. 

“I definitely had a lot of fun. I get to go to school every day, more hands-on work,” Riglos said. “I especially love culinary.”

Riglos wants to become a commercial airline pilot and Tennessee State has an an aviation major with a path to an aerospace and professional pilot bachelor’s degree.

“There were only a few schools that have the major of aviation and Tennessee State just happened to be one of them,” Riglos said. “I got in touch with the coach and from there it just kind of worked out.”

Her Baldwin coach Shane Yamasaki will miss his three-time league champ.

“Watching her these last three years winning the MIL championship, she has got a really good head on her shoulders and I think she will do really well in college,” Yamasaki said. “She is up there with the great girls this league has produced.” 

Loree finished nine strokes better than he did last season to win the MIL title on the same four courses — the first round was on Waiehu Municipal Golf Course on April 11, the second round on Kā‘anapali Kai Course on April 12, the third round at King Kamehameha Golf Club on April 17 and the final round on April 22 at Mākena after being stopped and postponed by rain on April 19.

Earlier in the season, the Maui Prep boys and girls won MIL team titles.

Loree’s scoring mark was capped by a 6-under-par 66 in the final round.

“I couldn’t imagine it any better,” he said. “Going into this year, I was like, ‘I want to set a few of my own records,’ and I’m just happy that I was able to do so.”

Loree’s high school coach Jake Grodzinsky said he has no doubt that Loree is the best boy golfer the MIL has ever seen.

“Yes, he’s the best ever,” Grodzinsky said. “We’ve had some good players come through while I’ve been here and most of those other good players are good for the state, but he’s good on a national level. He can contend on a national level and I think that really sets him apart. And I’ve just been incredibly lucky to have had him for these four years.”

Renner Chumley, a Maui Preparatory Academy senior who is headed Notre Dame, fired the round of the day last week at 65, to climb into second place in the MIL boys standings, but he was 12 strokes behind Loree. Chumley is undecided on whether he will try to walk on to the team at Notre Dame, but he said it was an honor to play against Loree for the last four years.

“He’s actually insanely good at this game,” Chumley said. “I probably could never play as good as he is right now, even if I keep practicing for a few years. He definitely deserves all the praise he gets. He’s an absolutely incredible player.”

Chris Salem is also a Maui Prep senior who is on his way to the University of Hawai‘i in the fall to compete on a golf scholarship.

“I’m super excited, it’s super special, I love golf so much and it’s going to be a great time next year and I’m really looking forward to it, just keep playing tournaments, keep playing competitive golf,” Salem said.

Salem played in the final group with Loree last week and finished third in the tournament, 17 strokes behind Loree.

“He’s special, man, he’s special to play with,” Salem said of Loree. “He’s a great guy. Probably a better human being than he is a golfer and that’s saying a lot. I’ve learned a lot just playing with him and he honestly just motivates me to work even harder. Playing with him makes my game better.”

Loree’s legacy includes qualifying for the Sony Open in January, a PGA Tour event where he missed the cut after shooting 3-under-par 67 in the first round and 75 in the second round at Waialae Country Club. In addition to Grodzinsky and Seabury Hall assistant coach Kasen Dudley, Loree gave large credit for his ascension to coach Sam Cyr, a former MIL champion for King Kekaulike, a two-time NAIA national champion for Point Loma Nazarene University and a former member of the Asian Tour.

Loree moved to Maui prior to his freshman year at Seabury Hall from El Paso, Texas, but the Valley Isle has clearly become his home.

“I take so much pride in Maui, Seabury Hall, the community,” Loree said, shaking his head at the suggestion that he is the best prep boy golfer ever from the Valley Isle. “It’s really cool. Like I wasn’t trying to set out and do that … I just love hitting the golf ball and it’s pretty cool. That’s taken me this far and I can’t wait to see where it takes me next, but I’m glad to know that I really left it all out there and it’s cool to see that I’m part of Maui’s golf history now.”